Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Has $17.03 Million Stake in Global Payments Inc. $GPN

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. reduced its stake in Global Payments Inc. by 20.3%, holding 173,960 shares valued at approximately $17.03 million after selling 44,300 shares in the first quarter.
• Several hedge funds have increased or initiated positions in Global Payments, with 89.76% of the stock owned by institutional investors.
• Global Payments announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25, representing a 1.1% yield, set to be paid on September 26th to shareholders of record on September 12th.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. cut its stake in shares of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE:GPN - Free Report) by 20.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 173,960 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 44,300 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 0.07% of Global Payments worth $17,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Global Payments by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 8,334,097 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $816,075,000 after buying an additional 35,251 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Global Payments by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,906,444 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $325,698,000 after buying an additional 259,590 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Global Payments by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,955,393 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $191,451,000 after buying an additional 49,029 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Global Payments by 40.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,656,830 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $185,664,000 after buying an additional 479,791 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Global Payments by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,624,288 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $159,050,000 after buying an additional 9,755 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on GPN. Wall Street Zen raised Global Payments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Global Payments from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Mizuho upgraded Global Payments from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $86.00 to $114.00 in a report on Friday, July 25th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Global Payments from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $100.00 price target (up from $90.00) on shares of Global Payments in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nineteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Global Payments has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.21.

Global Payments Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of GPN traded down $0.35 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $87.43. The stock had a trading volume of 1,782,257 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,182,874. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.30. Global Payments Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.93 and a 1-year high of $120.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.96.

Global Payments (NYSE:GPN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $3.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.04. Global Payments had a return on equity of 12.47% and a net margin of 15.07%.The business had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Global Payments Inc. will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Global Payments Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. Global Payments's dividend payout ratio is 17.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Dara L. Steele-Belkin sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $172,000.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 30,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,641,318. This represents a 6.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Global Payments Profile

Global Payments Inc provides payment technology and software solutions for card, check, and digital-based payments in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates through two segments, Merchant Solutions and Issuer Solutions. The Merchant Solutions segment offers authorization, settlement and funding, customer support, chargeback resolution, terminal rental, sales and deployment, payment security, and consolidated billing and reporting services.